2012 BronzeLens Film Festival Women Superstars Announced at Luncheon

Some the nation’s most successful women of color in the film and television will be honored for their accomplishments behind and in front of the lens at the BronzeLens Film Festival (BronzeLens) Women Superstars Luncheon.

The luncheon will take place Friday, November 9 from noon until 2:00 pm at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Atrium Ballroom, 265 Peachtree Center Avenue.

Honorary Chair of the event is Valerie Jackson and it is Co-chaired by Alice Cannon, Monica Pearson and Cecilia Torrence. “The BronzeLens Luncheon is now nationally recognized as a must attend industry event. We are proud to have achieved such status in the three years since its inception and are grateful to our sponsors The Coca-Cola Company and Macy’s for supporting our vision”, said Sheryl Gripper, Founding Executive Director of the Festival.

BronzeLens 2012 Women Superstars honorees include:

Tony-nominated, Emmy, Golden Globe and Obie-winning actress S. Epatha Merkerson (Legendary Superstar) is best known for her role as NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the drama series Law & Order and HBO’s mini-series Lackawanna Blues, which was her first leading role in almost twenty years on screen. In film she has appeared as Doctor Robinson in the Spike Lee Joint She’s Gotta Have It, as Elsa in the critically acclaimed psycho-thriller Jacob’s Ladder with Tim Robbins, and in Craig Brewer’s follow-up to Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan co-starring Christina Ricci and Samuel L. Jackson.

Filmmaker Stephanie Allain (Legendary Behind the Lens Superstar) is founder of Homegrown Films. She is widely known for being instrumental in the making of John Singleton’s Boyz N The Hood, which garnered Singleton two Academy Award nominations and set the bar for contemporary urban dramas. She also worked with John Singleton to produce to co-produce Craig Brewer’s Hustle & Flow which won the Audience Award at Sundance in 2005, an Academy Award for Best Original Song and earned a Best Actor nomination for Terrence Howard.

First time Filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper (Emerging Behind the Lens Superstar) is founder of Coffee Bluff Pictures and writer/producer/director of the award winning film Versailles ’73: American Runway Revolution. Versailles ’73 won the coveted CNN Outstanding Documentary Award as an official selection of the 2012 Martha’s Vineyard African-American Film Festival.

Script Consultant Kathie Fong Yoneda (Catalyst Superstar) is an independent script consultant whose clientele includes several award-winning writers. She is the author of The Script Selling Game: A Hollywood Insider’s Look At Getting Your Script Sold and Produced, which is in its fourth printing. She also was a co-exec producer on the popular cable series Beyond The Break.

Actress Emayatzy Corinealdi (Emerging Superstar) landed her first principal role for the TV movie The Nanny Express. She has appeared in television series’ such as Case, Young, Katrina and Romantically Challenged, as well as several acclaimed short films including the DGA Student Filmmaker Award winning Akira’s Hip Hop Shop (2007). Corinealdi won the 14th Annual American Black Film Festival (ABFF) Star Project, an international acting competition for emerging multicultural artists. In 2012, she made her feature film debut as the lead in Middle of Nowhere.